The Books are Under the Covers today with a live performance of Nick Drake's Cello Song (from 1969's Five Leaves Left), recorded via M-Audio Micro Track 24/96 2-channel mobile digital recorder at the Concert Hall at the New York Society for Ethical Culture last April 30th. The show was part of the 2007 Wordless Music Series.
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Much about the Books has already been very clearly written and said by Rez, Andy Gohlich and a few others; I strongly feel the less said about their music is more. Empty mind: destinations follow!
A few concepts may be absolutely true: DIY; low-tech; found vocals; sometimes seemingly-random-generated percussion; ingenious use of digital methode paired with experimental composition. Compulsive types might search aleatoric music...but be not mistaken, the Books beauty is certain!
I prefer to sit back and let Nick Zammuto and Paul De Jong do the driving, and let them take me on their sonic journey.
American poet William Carlos Williams said "no ideas but in things." Of the Books, old Doc Williams might just as well have said, like his famous plums:
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Let your own ears be the judge...
My Trusted MOGs
That was nice, not what I expected... thanks...
My Trusted MOGs
Here's a little lagniappe from the same show...
This arrangement is a bit different from the recorded version on Lost And Safe:
I do have to say that seeing these guys live took their music to an even more intense level. For the live shows, they sync video that shows above the stage and works hand-in-hand with what they are playing.
Saw them twice in New York in the space of a month. This show was at the end of their tour, and the first was at the beginning, a Sunday evening show in the cafe' space at the Whitney.
They sounded great at the latter venue despite it being all concrete and hard surfaces around them. The Concert Hall space at the Society for Ethical Culture is a marvelous olde-fashioned acoustical marvel, built for performance. The sound was just fantastic there.
Kudos to my buddy Deano Bravo for giving me the a call to go to the first show and turning me on to these guys. We couldn't wait for the second show, and almost caught the Chinatown bus to Philly to see them down there.